For any visiting lemmyverse people who may think this video sounds rational:

The perceived superiority of “developing” countries over “undeveloped” ones is flawed. Firstly, economic data for undeveloped countries is often incomplete, not due to primitiveness but because their economies lack extensive Western liberal economic activities, making them difficult to measure. Secondly, colonization leads to internal exploitation, where local elites collaborate with foreign businesses, creating an illusion of prosperity while the working class suffers. Thirdly, there is a recency bias, ignoring historical contexts like the situations in Singapore and Korea before and after WWII.

Furthermore, liberal economics lack a scientific, rational, and realistic foundation. Marxism, developing alongside other sciences, offered a more empirical approach, but industrial capitalism’s material conditions prevented its widespread acceptance.

Finally, the concept of charter cities or company towns illustrates modern imperialism, where foreign industries establish control in a country, manipulate local laws for profit, and gradually influence national politics, all under the guise of liberty and prosperity.

See Nicaragua for a real example of this. It’s happened there several times.